The present system has been developed in conjunction with printing numerals onto athletic jerseys or binnies. It will be described below in conjunction with that particular application; however, it is contemplated that the system will also be applicable to other garments which require precise positioning and application of characters thereto using silk screening procedures.
In printing numerals onto athletic garments, one is concerned with the following requirements:
the system should be capable of applying a single numeral centrally of the garment, or two numerals in balanced offset positions, or three numerals in central and balanced offset positions; PA1 the system should be capable of printing numerals of different sizes and, in some cases, in a plurality of colors (which involves sequentially using two or more screens, each of which is used to lay down a band of ink which forms part of the single numeral); PA1 the system should be easily usable by unskilled personnel and thus should not require a high degree of dexterity and expertise in positioning the stencilled screen relative to the garment; and PA1 the system should be characterized by high productivity. PA1 a separate paper rectangle is used for each numeral - each rectangle has to be carefully positioned with skill to achieve the desired accurate positioning; PA1 when the screen is brought down onto the paper, the paper tends to shift; skilled personnel are needed; PA1 the system is characterized by low productivity; and PA1 thus the system is expensive to use. PA1 A storage cabinet which forms a stack of shelves for holding a multiplicity of screen units, each such screen unit comprising a peripheral frame and a numeral stencil screen stretching across the frame opening; PA1 Screen support means extending forwardly and horizontally from a basic frame beneath the storage cabinet, said means typically consisting of a pair of parallel, horizontal, spaced-apart arms adapted to support two opposed sides of a screen frame; PA1 Means, such as a combination of pins and holes, carried in part by each of the screen unit frame and the support arms, for precisely positioning and fixing the former on the latter in the desired operating location; PA1 A manually operated, linearly and laterally movable horizontal platen, for supporting the garment, said platen being positioned between the screen support arms, so that the screen will overlie the garment, said platen being mounted on the outer end of a beam, the beam being rotatably supported between its ends by a transverse horizontal pivot rod, along which the beam may slide laterally. The beam has registration means, such as an upstanding locating pin, at its inner end, for engaging one of a multiplicity of registration means, such as holes, formed in or associated with a transversely extending horizontal registration rod which extends parallel to the pivot rod and is spaced rearwardly thereof. Thus the beam may be pivoted downwardly to release the locating pin, moved laterally to a new hole location, and pivoted upwardly to lock the locating pin in the second hole and thereby position the platen at a new printing position; PA1 Said holes in the registration rod being accurately positioned and adapted to locate the platen in the centered and offset positions for a number of different numeral sizes (stated otherwise, there is a single centre hole which is common to all of the numeral sizes and a pair of offset holes, for each numeral size, which are specific to that numeral size); PA1 Said screen frames preferably being colour-coded; and PA1 mounts the jersey centrally on the platen; PA1 selects the screen unit to be used by colour-coding (for size) and numeral; PA1 adjusts the platen laterally to insert the locating pin in an appropriate hole, by using the colour-coded line which corresponds with the frame colour, thereby bringing the garment to the appropriate location; PA1 fixes the screen unit on the stationary screen support means; and PA1 applies the ink through the screen stencil to form the numeral on the garment. PA1 The screen units, which are the variable components, are coupled with and positioned by registration means on a single unvarying fixed support means; PA1 Registration means are coupled with the movable platen and garment, which latter components remain together during the course of applying numbers to one garment; and PA1 Means, such as colour-coding, are used to correlate the screen unit (numeral size and location) with the position of the locating pin.
The simplest prior art system in commercial use involves manually positioning a paper stencil on the garment and then using a screen to uniformly apply the ink. The problems inherent in this system are:
A second commercial prior art system involves use of polymeric numbers having a heat-release paper sheet on the front. The numbers are manually positioned and a hot platen is then applied for about 30 seconds. The number bonds to the fabric. The front sheet is then peeled away. Again, the need for accurate positioning entails use of skilled workers and consumption of time. In addition, in some cases the number peels away with the paper sheet or scorching of the fabric can occur.
A third commercial prior art system involves using a lengthy screen having the stencil numerals 0-9 formed therein in spaced-apart sequence. A platen, on which the jersey to be numbered is to be positioned, is provided beneath the screen. The platen is carried by a carriage which may be moved along horizontally extending rails. The jersey is thus brought on the platen to a location beneath the desired numerals. The screen is pivoted down to the operating position and the ink is applied. Again, accurate positioning of the jersey relative to the stencil is a problem. This is particularly a problem if a two-colour number is to be created.
A fourth commercial prior art system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,815, issued to Richardson. The Richardson assembly incorporates a fixed platen on which the jersey to be numbered is mounted and centered. A carriage is mounted on horizontal guide rails positioned behind the platen. The guide rails and carriage are in turn mounted on an arm which may be pivoted in a vertical plane. A screen may be coupled to the carriage by a bayonet connector. Thus the arm may be pivoted down to bring the screen to the operating position relative to the platen and jersey. A registration plate, having three holes, is attached to the stationary platen assembly. The carriage carries a downwardly projecting pin on its underside. When the carriage is shifted along the rails to an appropriate position and the screen arm is pivoted down, the pin will enter one of the registration plate holes. These holes are positioned so as to locate the screen in one of the three centered or offset printing positions required for numbering a jersey up to the numeral 99. Dots are provided on the front of the registration plate to indicate the location of the holes, so that the operator can visually determine when the pin is properly positioned relative to a hole.
The Richardson disclosure thus teaches the use of a horizontally shiftable screen associated with a pin-and-hole registration means and visual indicia for accurately positioning the screen in one of the three required positions relative to a jersey centered on a stationary platen. This enables a non-skilled person to accurately and automatically position one or two screens relative to a jersey to apply properly positioned numerals thereto.